Because he was a dog, I did all the typing for him.
All these entries are completely true.
FOOD OR NOT FOOD
Current Mood: Hungry
sometimes i eat things that aren’t food. i ate a cassette tape, a bilbo baggins action figure and a stuffed alligator head. then i go for a ride in the car to visit the vet.
FLOOR TREATS
Current Mood: Hungry
everything that falls on the floor is mine to eat. i can hear a crumb drop from the other end of the house. sometimes i find small pieces of paper, pen caps and furballs instead. i eat them too because they are on the floor.
DIGGING HOLES
Current Mood: Hungry
i like to dig big deep holes in the backyard. then i stick my head in the hole and bark.
EATING CACTUS
Current Mood: Hungry
when i was a puppy, i ate a row of aloe cactus. they tasted pointy. the vet said that the cactus didn’t hurt my mouth at all and that my fur was very soft and shiny.
OUTSIDE TREATS
Current Mood: Hungry
i like to bark at pigeons. i eat birdseed and gravel in the backyard.
CHRISTMAS TREATS
Current Mood: Hungry
i have a cat friend. last christmas she pushed a chocolate santa off the table and onto the floor for me. it had crunchy tinfoil on the outside.
GARBAGE TREATS
Current Mood: Hungry
i like peanut butter. i like to eat things out of the garbage. i have one head, three legs and a tail.
UNDERGROUND TREATS
Current Mood: Hungry
i can smell mushrooms growing deep under the ground. i dig them up and eat them and then i get in trouble.
GOAT TREATS
Current Mood: Hungry
i chewed on my goat hoof all day long. it had peanut butter in it but i licked it away. i take hoofie outside with me. i hold it in my mouth when i pee. hoofie smells good and stinky.
RECYCLED TREATS
Current Mood: Hungry
i ate dog food and some carrots. when i threw up the carrots were back so i ate them again.
ALLIGATOR TREATS
Current Mood: Hungry
i ate a taxidermy alligator head i found on the bookshelf. it was crunchy and tasted like a mummy. mama thought it was a chicken carcass or maybe one of the cats. she screamed and took it away.
SHINY TREATS
Current Mood: Hungry
i ate a sheet of aluminum foil covered with chicken grease and crunchy burnt things. the vet said i would be okay, but to call them if i threw up or made sparks.
BREADY TREATS
Current Mood: Hungry
i found a piece of bread on poppa’s plate. i had to jump up to reach it. i ate it real fast. poppa got another bready piece to make his sandwich.
REFRIGERATOR TREATS
Current Mood: Hungry
i push people into the refrigerator so they will give me food. i know that’s where the carrots live.
BEGGING FOR FOOD
Current Mood: Hungry
this is my begging face. if i do this long enough someone gives me food.
My dream was not to be some rich and famous artist..
Not to win awards or have my paintings hanging in museums.
I just wanted to be good.
I remember staring endlessly at the pictures of the beautifully illustrated books I grew up with. The people who made those pictures had somehow managed to capture their imagination on paper and make it real. My mind was filled with pictures, too – and there were worlds inside me that had to come out. The urge to create was irresistible.. and it ignited a fire inside me that will burn forever.
Exposure to art at an early age is a powerful experience. It can change your life. My husband Richard talks about this in his recent post, The Fine Art of Childhood.
Art is a lifetime commitment. The endless months, years, decades invested to get my skills to match my vision. Always pushing further – I love every step of my artistic journey. This is what I was meant to do. I have dedicated my life to bringing my unique vision out into the light. Truly, art is the soul made visible.
It seems only fitting that I have become the author / illustrator of children’s books..
Gunther makes a cameo appearance in The Secret Kingdom. This performance became part of our routine whenever it was time to feed the dog.
It’s fascinating how people never seemed to notice that Gunther was missing a leg.
Since Dalmatians are not very common, and Gunther was tremendously friendly, we were often approached by a variety of strangers wanting to get a closer look.
Once, while sitting outside at a coffee shop, a man approached and asked if it was okay to pet Gunther.
“Yes.” I replied, “He’s very friendly.”
This gentleman crouched down to where Gunther was sitting and smiled. He stayed there for several minutes, talking and petting my happy dog.
When he stood up to leave… Gunther took a couple of hopping steps toward him.
The man was worried, “Oh sweetie, what happened? Did you hurt your foot?”
“He’s missing a whole leg.” I explained.
The man did a double-take.
Maybe he was distracted by all the spots.
Or maybe he suddenly understood how love is truly blind.
I never noticed Gunther’s missing leg, either.
To this day, four-legged dogs look really weird to me..
Just got back from The Secret Kingdom book signing event in the beautiful state of Virginia.
Being that we were so close to Washington, D.C., we hopped on a train and spent the day sight-seeing, visiting the museums and walking around our nation’s capital surrounded by cherry trees in bloom.
I must admit I was a little anxious, because I knew at some point I would encounter the dreaded Lincoln Memorial.
Yes, dreaded.
It is a little known fact that I have a bizarre and somewhat embarrassing fear of unnaturally large things.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, my husband Richard told me that the giant Lincoln comes alive at night and eats tourists. Although that mental image actually made me shudder, I figured we’d be okay as long as we got out of there before nightfall.
Standing at the base of the stairs leading up to giant Lincoln.. my heart was pounding, my legs felt weak and I broke out in a cold sweat.
In this picture, I seem to be leaning slightly to the right.
Actually, I was cowering in fear at the terrible sight of enormous Lincoln.
It is always good to conquer your fears and do something that scares you..